The Last Letter from Your Lover: A Novel

A sophisticated, pause-resistant double love story spanning 40 years - an unforgettable Brief Encounter for our times. It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing - not the tragic car accident, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband. Years later, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives....

One Plus One: A Novel

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied, and your math-whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can't afford to pay for. That's Jess' life in a nutshell - until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess' knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages...maybe ever.

Silver Bay: A Novel

From the New York Times best-selling author of Me Before You and One Plus One, a surprising and moving romance set in an old-fashioned seaside town on the verge of unwelcome change. Liza McCullen will never fully escape her past. But the unspoiled beaches and tight-knit community of Silver Bay offer the freedom and safety she craves - if not for herself, then for her young daughter, Hannah. That is, until Mike Dormer arrives as a guest in her aunt's hotel.

The Ship of Brides

1946: World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime. In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England - aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier’s captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy’s ironclad sanctions.

The Horse Dancer

Sarah's grandfather was a horseman of rare talent - only the exceptional are allowed into France's elite riding academy, Le Cadre Noir. But life took an unexpected turn, and now from a council estate in east London, the Captain hopes to train his granddaughter towards a better life.

The Peacock Emporium

The only place Suzanna Peacock finds comfort is her shop, which provides a haven for the misfits in town. But she is forced to confront events of the past and her family that have been haunting her for so long. And she discovers that the key to her happiness may have been in front of her all along....

Me Before You: A Novel

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life - steady boyfriend, close family - who has never been farther afield than her tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life - big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel - and now he's pretty sure he cannot live the way he is. Will is acerbic, moody, bossy - but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected.

Night Music

The Spanish House is a mixture of designs, Georgian, Gothic and Moorish, as if whoever started it had simply got bored. It has long been known as an architectural folly to locals, and is now nearly derelict to boot. When its reclusive owner dies intestate, the Spanish House is left to his city-dwelling niece. For Isabel, recently widowed, the house is a potential lifeline - the only hope she has of providing for her two children without having to sell her most treasured possession.

Paris for One and Other Stories

Nell is 26 and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away - to anywhere - before. Traveling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their mini vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone - including herself - wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life?

The Horse Dancer: A Novel

A quintessential Jojo Moyes novel about a lost girl and her horse, the enduring strength of friendship, and how even the smallest choices can change everything. When Sarah's grandfather gives her a beautiful horse named Boo - hoping that one day she'll follow in his footsteps to join an elite French riding school, away from their gritty London neighborhood - she quietly trains in the city's parks and alleys. But then her grandfather falls ill, and Sarah must juggle horsemanship with school and hospital visits.

Windfallen

The tiny, well-ordered seaside village of Merham holds little to interest the adventurous - except for Arcadia, the breathtaking art deco house perched above the shoreline. Attracted to this magical place, young Lottie Swift surrenders freely to its temptations and ultimately must face the hard consequences of her actions. Years later, another young woman comes to Merham. A designer hired to make over the now-empty Arcadia, Daisy Parsons seeks a new beginning, as Lottie once did. Fleeing a broken relationship, Daisy finds refuge at Arcadia, and something more - a love she thought she would never know again.

My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel

Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie's life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle - from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she's trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.

New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline's world is forever changed when Hitler's army invades Poland in September 1939 - and then sets its sights on France. An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office.

A Man Called Ove

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon - the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him "the bitter neighbor from hell". But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness.

What Alice Forgot

What would happen if you were visited by your younger self, and got a chance for a do-over?Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she's actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.

Before We Were Yours: A Novel

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge - until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth.

Big Little Lies

Pirriwee Public's annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. One parent is dead. The school principal is horrified. As police investigate what appears to have been a tragic accident, signs begin to indicate that this devastating death might have been cold-blooded murder. In this thought-provoking novel, number-one New York Times best-selling author Liane Moriarty deftly explores the reality of parenting and playground politics, ex-husbands and ex-wives, and fractured families.

After a violent coup in the United States overthrows the Constitution and ushers in a new government regime, the Republic of Gilead imposes subservient roles on all women. Offred, now a Handmaid tasked with the singular role of procreation in the childless household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost everything, even her own name.

The Beautiful Lost

Ever since her mother left, Maia's struggled with depression - which once got so bad, she had to go to an institution for a while. She doesn't want to go back. When Maia sets off on a road trip in search of her mom, Billy unexpectedly comes along. They drive up the East Coast, stopping along the way for lobster rolls and lighthouses. Maia learns that Billy has dark secrets of his own - and wants to outrun his past, too. But what will the future hold if they reach their destination?

Beartown

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semifinals, and they actually have a shot at winning.

A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged. Left behind is a lonely 15-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from - a place to which she vowed she'd never return.

Truly Madly Guilty

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don't say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.

Publisher's Summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of Me Before You, a spellbinding love story of two women separated by a century but united in their determination to fight for what they love most

France, 1916: Artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard's portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer's dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything - her family, her reputation, and her life - to see her husband again.

Almost a century later, Sophie's portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting's true worth, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is - putting Liv's belief in what is right to the ultimate test.

Like Sarah Blake's The Postmistress and Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key, The Girl You Left Behind is a breathtaking story of love, loss, and sacrifice told with Moyes's signature ability to capture our hearts.

Beautifully written novel of Sophie, a French wife and her sister left to cook for Germans in occupied Paris in WWI. The portrait painted by Sophie's husband, Edourd, captures a moment when she discovers she loves and desires him for the first time, creating a captivating piece of artwork. As she struggles to stay brave for her family; keep up hope for Edourd; entertain monsters in her own home and place of business; she shows Herculean strength and fights to maintain her spirit and dignity.

Present day Liz, received, "The Girl You Left Behind" as a honeymoon present from her now deceased husband. She calls it her favorite possession and feels a deep connection with Sophie.

Both characters are as different as night and day, disparate, yet intriguing in their own way. When I read books told from two different points of view and time periods, I often find myself liking one more than the other. This was not the case, finally. I couldn't wait to hear Sophie's lilting, lovely French accent and was equally waiting to tag along with British Liz during her quest to move on and hold on to Sophie. Moyes created characters with depth you cared about and relationships you felt with intensity.

One of the best books I've listened to in months. Excellent read, and don't call it chic lit!

Reading the titles and descriptions of the various Jojo Moyes books, one might assume that she is a prolific "chick lit" factory. After finishing The Girl You Left Behind, my second Moyes novel, my experience has thus far been quite to the contrary. This is a well-written, engaging, thoughtful and rich story. The beginning, set in a French town during the German occupation in WWI, sets the stage for what will become a tale that becomes a legal and ethical dilemma on many levels. "The Girl You Left Behind" is actually a painting of questionable provenance painted during the war one hundred years ago. But it is so much more than just a painting and the woman who was the painting's subject is brought to life and continues to speak many generations later from the canvas where she is enshrined.Excellent and touching story, well written and well read. Highly recommended.

But not quite. And my issue is tiny enough I can still recommend this book quite highly.

Ms. Moyes does a great job of taking a controversial issue and helping you see it from a fresh perspective. The issue isn't quite as intense as assisted suicide, as she tackled in her most recent book. But it is still polarizing - repatriation of illegally obtained valuables and personal items during a time of war. This book takes a fresh look at the issue and the perspective she crafted was quite ingenious. She takes a step backwards from the more common storyline of evil Nazis and the pillage they committed during World War II and sets the events in motion during World War I.

The story is told from two perspectives, almost 100 years apart. Two women who are terribly different - one who continues to fight and to hope long after everyone around her has stopped and one who seems to have stopped fighting and hoping a long time ago. Through the artwork they share, the strength and righteousness of Sophie gradually becomes imbued in Liv.

The narration was wonderful, especially Sophie's voice. But both narrators performed multiple characters and accents beautifully.

Here is my one tiny complaint. I will try and express it without giving the ending away, but the resolution in Liv's story has one too many last minute reprieves to me. I felt like I was brought to the bring of resolution, only to find out it wasn't once too often.

I finished the book terribly satisfied. It is the 3rd book I've read by this author. I will definitely read another one and I recommend this one highly.

Would you try another book from Jojo Moyes and/or Clare Corbett and Penny Rawlins ?

I love this author and also Clare Corbett is one of my favorite narrators but the first half of the book is read by Penny Rawlins who is terrible, whenever something dramatic happens her voice goes 5 octaves up and I can't even listen to the words she is saying. S

I am trying to plow through this novel but the narrator's horrendous fake French accent is highly distracting and making it difficult to get through. I am only 1/3 into the book but the repetitive prose and the horrible narration is really getting in the way of what seems like a decent story. I hope things get better.

Would you try another book from Jojo Moyes and/or Clare Corbett and Penny Rawlins ?

I have enjoyed other audiobooks by this author, but found the choice to go with a bad French accent for the whole book to be extraordinarily annoying. I was listening on a road trip and had to stop after a half hour and buy another audiobook.

I enjoyed this book for its original story. It was enjoyable having the story not give away the history all at once, so you were still curious and captivated at the end. I liked the lesson of faith and belief in oneself, while simultaneously teaching that humans often pick the hard way for spite due to the inability to see beyond oneself. I'd recommend this book to others to enjoy.

Note: if anyone at Audible ever reads this, please adjust the volume of the first story. The French-accented reader has her various voices *screaming* into the microphone, while the narrative portions were heavily accented and at a soft whisper. I'd turn the volume up to hear the storyline only to have the volume jump to screech out lines in someone else's perspective. It was painful and distracted from the story.

Wholeheartedly impressed by Jojo Moyes' exceptional "The Girl You Left Behind. Enjoyed narrators as well. The abrupt shift in time and perspective was at first disconcerting, and quite honestly I thought the book ruined, but before long I was engrossed with Olivia's story as I was with Sophie's. I am frequently frustrated by all the "5 star" book reviews I see in Audible reviews. A book that truly deserves "five stars" rarely comes along. I was sorry to see this one end, but enjoyed it thoroughly. Full disclosure, it is a bit of "chick lit". I can't wait to read a third book of Ms. Moye's, she is a brilliant, gifted writer.

I am in love with this book. The author did an amazing job of character development I felt like I knew them all personally. I was enraptured with the unfolding of the story and the internal turmoil of each character.

What other book might you compare The Girl You Left Behind to and why?

I have no books to compare this to. I really enjoyed Me Before You, also by Jo Jo Moyes and having read this, I was propelled to listen to another of her books. I am very fond of her writing style and I love the way she develops her characters.

What does Clare Corbett and Penny Rawlins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I always find audiobooks far superior to those I "read". Some feel the complete opposite and would rather use their imaginations to imagine the characters. I personally find voices very helpful in my appreciation of the people in the books I listen to. Often, the accents give me a window into the culture in which the characters are immersed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I found this very easy to continue to listen to. I could probably have listened all in one sitting if I'd had the time.

Any additional comments?

I will be seeking out more books by this author. Well done! The only comment I would make is that the ending was a bit predictable but I don't want to give anything away… so listen to the book!